SAN ANGELO, Texas — Swimmers: Beware of Texas' slithery serpents – because they're trying to beat the heat, too.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) shared a video this week of a diamondback rattlesnake "traveling" on the O.H. Ivie Lake near San Angelo, Texas.
TPWD featured the snake video as part of its #WildlifeWednesday series of posts to Facebook, with this footage arriving online on Wednesday, Aug. 3.
"Nice day for a ssswim," TPWD wrote in its caption of the video, along with a snake emoji. "Most snakes can swim but they're not interested in humans. Leave them alone and they'll be on their way."
Blake Barnett, who shot the video, told MySA that he thought it was a cool encounter.
Barnett's mother, the woman seen in the video, begged to differ.
She shook her finger and her head.
Watch here:
Folks on social media were quick to chime in on the unnerving clip.
As of this writing, the video has been viewed more than 150,000 times since it was first posted by the TPWD.
According to TPWD's website section on snakes, there are 10 species of rattlesnakes in Texas. The Western diamondback is the most common venomous snake in Texas, found in all but the easternmost portion of the state.
As you might expect, the comment section of the video was filled with frightened viewers.
"Well. Between that and alligators, I’ll be staying out of lakes for the rest of my life," one commenter said.
"Had one get in the boat with me and a few other teenagers way back! LOTS of screaming. We [probably] scared the snake more than it did us. It slithered back out," commented another.
TPWD advises on its website that people not panic and keep their distance from snakes if they come across any.
"Snakes do not prey on humans and they will not chase you; in fact they usually retreat or escape if given the opportunity," the TPWD website says. "The danger comes when they are either surprised or cornered."
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